Robert N. Machlin

Ascend Communications Inc. develops, manufactures, sells and services wide area networking solutions for telecommunications carriers, Internet service providers and corporate customers worldwide. Lucent Technologies has acquired Ascend Communications, Inc.

SkyPilot Networks, Inc. provides broadband wireless equipment and network systems. The firm's products include SkyGateway, SkyExtender Series, SkyConnector, SkyControl, and SkyPilot EMS. The company was founded by Duncan M. Davidson and Mark Rich in 2000 and is headquartered in Redwood City, CA.

Echelon Corp. engages in the development and distribution of open-standard control networking platforms for industrial internet of things applications. It offered chips, control point devices, network interfaces, software, modules, routers, controllers and gateways, motion sensors, and starter and evaluation kits. The company was founded by Armas Clifford Markkula, Jr. in February 1988 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, CA.

Catena developed the industry's first standardized subscriber interface to enable voice and data convergence. BVP invested in the company's later rounds, and Ciena (NASDAQ: CIEN) bought the firm in 2004.